Top 10 World Cup Jerseys

The World Cup is approximately 12,250 minutes away, or if you like, a mere nine days. Whatever your preferred chronological unit of choice we can all agree its enough to give you the World Cup sweats.

And sweat you will if you haven’t already purchased your World Cup jersey. There are a total of 66 jerseys on offer – I’m sorry, unless it’s for five-a-side purposes, Goalkeeper jerseys are off-limits – which can make the all important decision rather daunting. To offer a remedy we have produced a short-list of the ten best jerseys on offer this summer.

Brazil – 3rd

A staple of every World Cup is the classic yellow and blue of A Seleção, and to be honest one couldn’t go far wrong donning the home or away options from Nike. But why not mix it up a tad and opt for the 3rd option. Sure it won’t be used on the pitch, but there’s something about a special edition that is, well, special.

Cameroon – Home

Puma have a history of making stand-out designs for Les Lions Indomptables - and this is no different. Some lovely tribal detailing and possibly the best crest of the lot.

Mexico – Away

Unless I stumble across a magic lamp in the next fortnight Jorge Campos will not be strutting out onto the pitch in Brazil wearing one of his self-designed dayglo classics. Mexico’s away shirt goes some way to ease the pain in my heart – a stand-out design and a stand-out colour.

The Netherlands – Home

Is there a more iconic colour in international football than the Dutch orange? If there is I’m yet to see it. After a few years tinkering unnecessarily Nike have gone for a classic design and let the colour do the talking.

Columbia – Home

Returning after a 16 year absence the return of Columbia to international football’s top table is something to be savoured – in no little measure due to the potential presence of Birdman. The shirt benefits from a number of tidy details, and though the presence of a #Hashtag emblazoned collar may be a fly in the purist’s ointment I’m willing to overlook that simply because its bloody Columbia.

France – Home

Nike’s deal with the French national team is, allegedly, the highest paying in football. France have certainly got their money’s worth out of the deal – both the home and away incarnations are absolute beauties. The home shirt is a classy affair – a world away from the busy Adidas designs that haunted Les Blue’s previous World Cup campaigns.

Japan – Away

The sight of a Japan jersey on the high street is a rare thing. Rarer still is the chance of spotting something this fluorescent outside of a building site. It’ll take nerve to pull this one-off this summer – but rocking ザックジャパン (Zakku Japan) is worth 100 hipster points.

Germany – Away

Eagle-eyed kit aficionados may draw comparisons to Newcastle’s 1995 away shirt, also designed by Adidas. The German manufacturer’s close relationship with the national side means their jerseys rarely disappoint and the nifty red and black resign is no different.

USA – Away

I’m not afraid to admit I may have been a tad hasty dismissing this jersey when first launched,whilst my opinion has mellowed I still maintain it slightly resembles a rocket lolly. It may not have the teary-eyed patriotism of USA’s 1994 efforts (the story of which you can find here) but nevertheless a shirt worthy of your hard-earned money.

Honduras – Home

Bit of a left-field choice I admit, to be honest you won’t seen it on the field after the group stages and that badge is slightly uninspiring. But it is a clean design with some nice detailing and, most importantly, it is a Honduras football shirt, an automatic 100,000 hipster points.

Best of luck in your decision, and remember – a jersey is for life, not just for the summer.

World Cup jersey giveaway

BPF are giving away a football shirt of your choice on Twitter. To enter, just retweet this tweet and follow @bpfootball.

Competition ends on Sunday the 8th of June at 12:00 GMT. Back Page Football have final say on all decisions. The winner will be contacted on Twitter.